IBF heavyweight world champion Daniel Dubois has said he is determined to knock Anthony Joshua “off that pedestal” when the pair meet in an all-British mega-fight next month.
Dubois (21-2-0 20 KO) will make the first defense of his IBF belt against two-time unified champion Joshua (28-3-0 25 KO) at Wembley Stadium in London, England on September 21. Their bout will headline Riyadh Season’s second international show following last week’s event in Los Angeles led by Terence Crawford.
Dubois was the IBF’s interim champion after taking the title from Filip Hrgovic in June when the Londoner delivered the finest performance of his career to stop the Croatian in the eighth round in Saudi Arabia.
That put ‘Dynamite’ in direct line to face undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, but a rematch with Tyson Fury in December forced the Ukrainian to vacate the title before the IBF stripped him of it, elevating Dubois to full champion status.
Dubois may be the champion, but Joshua is regarded as the favorite and in terms of profile, the A-side, even if he is on the right side of the poster and will walk out first. That suits Dubois just fine and the 26-year-old is maintaining a challenger mindset ahead of the biggest fight of his career.
“It’s been called and it was delivered and here we are now. Go through the next one, onto the next and on the door of greatness,” Dubois told Queensberry. “These big nights and topping a bill with a major elite fighter. A guy that’s been up there for a long time. Now I feel it’s the right time to knock him off that pedestal and take the front.”
Dubois and Joshua sparred several years ago, when A.J was preparing to fight Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 and Dynamite was still a raw, talented teenager. The outcome of the sparring sessions was never revealed, although speculation claimed Joshua was knocked out – rumors Joshua has played down.
Those encounters were seven years ago and will have no relevance at Wembley Stadium, so Dubois is focused only on preparing for next month’s bout.
“It’s all about what’s going to happen now in the fight and I’m really focused on it,” he said. “I’m really ready to go. Sparring is sparring. That happened seven years ago. I don’t want to talk about that or whatever happened there. I’m a different fighter and I’ve been through my ups and downs and just on to the next now.
“[I’m a] different guy now. Harder punching, stronger, and stronger willed and that’s what this battle is going to come down to; the spirit and the will of each fighter. I need to stay right, stay positive and stay in a good vibe in camp and onwards from now.”
Both fighters enter the bout following a string of fine performances. Joshua responded to his successive losses to Usyk by winning four straight, including the last three by knockout. Dubois, meanwhile, bounced back from his own defeat to Usyk by beating the durable Jarrell Miller in a final-round knockout before his stoppage win over Hrgovic.
Against Hrgovic, Dubois did an excellent job of walking down his opponent and letting his superior power do the business, but he won’t be able to deploy a similar game plan for Joshua, who possesses far more power, speed, and skill than the Croatian.
“I won’t take them shots. Hrgovic is completely different to AJ,” Dubois said. “The way he throws his shots is smooth. He’s light. He’s quick. He don’t load up on anything. It took me a while to get the hang of it but once I found a way to deal with it, if you look at the fight properly I was slipping – just subtly sometimes – and doing what I had to do to win.
“That’s what I’m going to have to do again. Break Joshua up, break what’s in front of me down and get the victory by any means necessary.”
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